Scoot: Is separating boys and girls in school the answer?

7.12.12 - There were a number of reasons why I hated my school years. Attending all-boys schools…one private and one public…from 1st through 12th grade was one of the reasons!

There’s a new report that shows a growing trend of gender separation in schools. Nationwide, over 500 schools have become single-sex schools. Because of my personal experience, I seem to only understand the opposition.

Okay, maybe there’s less distraction in a school void of the opposite sex, but I think the greater advantage is “interaction” between the sexes. When I went to East Jefferson High School it was all-boys. Grace King and Riverdale were the all-girls schools. The boys at E.J. were rough. I always thought the presence of girls in the school would have made some of the crudest members of the student body more civilized.

In talking to female friends, who went to all-girls schools, I understand the argument that less time was spent making oneself presentable for school, but isn’t the idea that we “dress” for the opposite sex a civilizing function?

And as a shy, introverted student throughout my school years I was at a complete disadvantage when it came to meeting members of the opposite sex. How was I expected to meet girls? One option was to join the youth group at my church, which did yield a few girlfriends. But, I always wondered what it would have been like to have girls in the classroom!

Every trend attracts support and opposition. Those who support the trend point out that single-sex schools are less distracting for the students, because the instinctive activity of “flirting” is eliminated. My personal experience leads me to oppose single-sex schools, because co-ed schools can better “tame” the rowdy boys and the crude girls in the student body and can help teach the skills for interacting with the opposite sex.

I remember asking my parents if they knew anyone in Orleans Parish whose address we could use so I could go to John F. Kennedy High School, which was co-ed. I often wonder what my life would be like if I had gone to Kennedy and met a Kennedy “Cougar?” Maybe it’s not too late to meet a “cougar” from Kennedy!